Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having or showing much worldly knowledge or cultural refinement.
  • adjective Very complex or complicated.
  • adjective Suitable for or appealing to the tastes of sophisticates.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having obtained worldly experience, and lacking naiveté; cosmopolitan.
  • adjective Elegant, refined.
  • adjective Complicated, especially of complex technology.
  • adjective Appealing to the tastes of an intellectual; cerebral.
  • adjective obsolete, UK Dishonest or misleading.
  • verb Simple past tense and past participle of sophisticate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective ahead in development; complex or intricate
  • adjective having or appealing to those having worldly knowledge and refinement and savoir-faire
  • adjective intellectually appealing

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First English usage circa 1601. Medieval Latin sophisticatus.

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Examples

  • They gutted the house in order to create what they describe as a sophisticated cottage with a European feeling.

    For Fans of Figs and Crabs Sarah Tilton 2011

  • They gutted the house in order to create what they describe as a sophisticated cottage with a European feeling.

    Chesapeake Bay Cottage 2011

  • Now that's what I call sophisticated argumentation!

    Human Coprophagia Everlasting- the Obama Era 2009

  • The Spruce Pine-related losses follow North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's June uncovering of what he described as a sophisticated real estate fraud involving a planned community, the Village of Penland, in the western part of the state.

    United Community Cuts Outlook 2007

  • He talked ant what he called the sophisticated design.

    CNN Transcript Aug 11, 2006 2006

  • Mr. Tobok could not say for sure that the attacks, which he described as sophisticated, and which appeared to originate from Chinese computers, were in fact sanctioned by China's government.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed JEFF GRAY 2011

  • "It started here, absolutely," said Sir Brian Urquhart, a nonagenarian former under secretary general, recalling the birth of what he described as a sophisticated if entangled plan.

    NYT > Home Page By NEIL MacFARQUHAR 2011

  • Mr. Tobok could not say for sure that the attacks, which he described as sophisticated, and which appeared to originate from Chinese computers, were in fact sanctioned by China's government.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed JEFF GRAY 2011

  • We had a good moan at the supplier and the problem seems to have gone away ... now that's what you call sophisticated quality control Interested in this topic?

    CR4 - Recent Forum Threads and Blog Entries corelite 2010

  • We had a good moan at the supplier and the problem seems to have gone away ... now that's what you call sophisticated quality control Interested in this topic?

    CR4 - Recent Forum Threads and Blog Entries corelite 2010

Comments

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  • In rare and antique books, this refers to a volume on which repairs have been made that involve additions to the original--for example, missing chips of paper are filled in and colored to match the missing portion, or page corners are replaced with new paper.

    February 22, 2007

  • The Sophisticated Song. (if at work, use headphones)

    July 15, 2009

  • Blahaha! Thanks!

    July 15, 2009